The Devil Within
by Darkest Ember
Summary: Jane is asked to accompany Erik Selvig and a mysterious scientist on the tesseract project for SHIELD. In a short amount of time, Jane and this scientist grow close, and she finds that he's making her wait for Thor's return more bearable. Things will take a deadly turn once Loki lets his true identity be known.
1. Prologue

**The Devil Within**

By: Darkest Ember

Chapter 1: Prologue

* * *

**Summary: **Jane is asked to accompany Erik Selvig and a mysterious scientist on the tesseract project for SHIELD. Due to the seriousness of the subject matter, they live in tight quarters and rarely leave the lab. In a short amount of time, Jane and this scientist grow close, and she finds that he's making her wait for Thor's return more bearable. Things will take a deadly turn once Loki lets his true identity be known.

Takes place between _Thor_ and _The Avengers_.

Loki x Jane

* * *

_My love is your disease_

_I won't let it set you free till I break you_

_You'll never know what hit you_

_Won't see me closing in _

_I'm gonna make you suffer_

_This hell you put me in_

_I'm underneath your skin_

_The devil within_

- "The Devil Within" Digital Daggers -

* * *

All he could hear was her screams, reverberating off the towering golden walls of the palace. Despite living there for thousands of years, Thor found himself stumbling upon countless dead ends and abandoned corridors, while he scrambled to find her.

When was the last time he felt such – fear? He'd survived countless conquests, lived to tell the tale of thousands of bloody battles. Not once had he felt a sliver of fear compared to what he felt coursing through his veins this very instant.

Everything was so perfect just hours ago. Jane, upon spending endless hours searching for a way to travel to Asgard, to link their two realms once more, materialized out of thin air before him. They cherished their unexpected, though greatly appreciated time together, but suddenly the atmosphere changed. Loki, who'd been using his magic to conceal his presence, snatched Jane away right in front of Thor.

Thor knew she was somewhere in the palace. He tried calling upon the guards for help, but found the palace to be completely abandoned. It must've been one of Loki's illusions. Illusion or not, the eerie silence, save for the screams, was starting to toy with Thor's mind, causing his movements to become sloppier.

As he turned another corner, he skidded to an abrupt halt. He saw shadows of two figures dancing along the wall. The taller one – no doubt his brother – raised his hand and brought it down upon the smaller shadow. She cried out as her body flew across the room.

He'd finally found them.

Thor growled, tightly gripping Mjolnir, and charged into the room, hammer held high. "Enough!" His booming voice shook the foundation.

Loki glanced up with a smirk, mischievous and violent intent brightening his eyes. "Ah, you've arrived just in time. I was growing tired of torturing such an insignificant, defenseless creature."

Jane struggled to get back on her feet. Her body was covered in cuts and burns from where he'd struck her with blasts of magic. The beautiful dress Frigga loaned her was tattered, the silky material torn to awful shreds. Despite her pain, Jane mustered enough strength to shoot him a hateful expression.

"Step away from her, brother," Thor replied, struggling to contain himself at the sight of Jane's battered body.

"I'm afraid I can't," Loki said, his face conveying mock sympathy. In a flash, he somehow managed to pin Thor up against the wall, keeping him in place with a quickly cast spell. "I want you to stand here and watch, helpless, as I kill your woman."

"Loki, stop this madness! She has done nothing to wrong you."

Loki rolled his eyes, gracefully turning on his heel to approach Jane. He reached down, wrapping skeletal fingers around her throat. Her hands instinctively flew up to claw at his, though her attempts did nothing to loosen his grip.

Even with his full strength, Thor could not break free from the invisible restraints. He was forced to watch as his brother slowly choked the life out of Jane. Just on the verge of death, Loki stopped suddenly, spinning around and facing Thor.

"Let it be known that on this day, the mighty Thor failed to spare his loved one from death," Loki snarled. Using his free hand, he transformed the marble floor into a pit of lava, separating Thor and himself. He held Jane's nearly lifeless body out over the pit, allowing both her and Thor to realize how her death would come about.

Before she could scream or beg for his mercy, Loki dropped her into the lava, watching with sick satisfaction as the lava ate her flesh in a matter of seconds.

* * *

The image of her melted flesh and dissolving bones burned into the back of Thor's eyes, even as he returned to reality, panting and alert in his chambers. His eyes darted madly around the room – a familiar, though confusing setting. Everything about that awful nightmare felt so real, so lifelike.

He could still feel the heat emitted from the lava inch along his flesh. He could still feel his heart fiercely beating in fear and sorrow.

Why would his mind plague him with such horrific images?

Try as he may, Thor was unable to fall back asleep. He feared that there was some sort of warning to the nightmare, perhaps of events yet to manifest. He needed some sort of reassurance.

Silently, he crept out of his chambers and took a horse from the stable. The journey to the gatekeeper was much shorter with nothing but a fragmented strip of the Bifrost remaining.

Heimdall anticipated Thor's arrival before the god of thunder ever left his bed. He did not turn to greet Thor. "What troubles you, my prince?"

"I worry about Jane," Thor answered.

"If it will put your mind at ease, I shall turn my gaze upon her."

Thor felt his skin crawl once he saw Heimdall's shoulders tense ever so slightly.

"How very strange," Heimdall mumbled. "I have looked upon Jane Foster periodically since your return to Asgard, but this is the first time that I cannot see her."

"What does that mean? Why can't you see her?" There was a foreign quiver to Thor's usually boisterous voice.

"There are only two explanations I can think of – she is either dead or being veiled, with magic."

Refusing to believe her dead, Thor racked his memory, recalling how many a time Loki would use his magic to conceal himself or others. Unfortunately, the most recent memory involved letting the Frost Giants sneak into Asgard, disrupting his coronation.

This had to be Loki's doing, Thor concluded. Unfortunately, even though he was nearly positive that Jane wasn't dead, the thought of Loki being anywhere near her did little to bring him any more comfort.

"Does this not remind you of Loki's tactics?" Thor asked.

Heimdall considered the possibility. "It may very well be Loki's doing. However, I have not been able to sense his presence since the day he fell into the abyss. I presumed him dead, as did we all."

It could hardly be coincidence that Jane would vanish from Heimdall's all-seeing eyes just as Thor dreamed of Loki murdering her. He needed to find a way to Midgard now more than ever.

* * *

From the moment Thor vanished, merging into the rainbow-colored stream of light, Jane began working on a way to rejoin him. Erik and Darcy remained by her side, though only possessing a fraction of her fierce determination.

Nothing else mattered – each day consisted of the same basic tasks: eat, breathe, sleep, and research. Although the odds seemed to continuously stack up against her, she refused to stop. After all, she was limited by her mortal lifespan. She needed to build an Einstein-Rosen bridge _immediately._

How could she focus on this world when she knew that there was so much more out there for her to see?

Jane awoke with a start, forced into consciousness from the ceaseless pounding at the front door. She'd fallen asleep in a pile of her notes, yet again. Groaning, she wiped some drool off her face and tried to smooth down her hair, wanting to look at least somewhat presentable to the person who interrupted her sleep.

She made her way through the narrow hallway, if one could call it that, of her RV and reached the door. The person waiting for her on the other side was an all too familiar face – Agent Phil Coulson, of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Morning, Doctor Foster," he greeted, a curt, businesslike smile tugging at his lips.

"Do you guys always just show up spontaneously like this?" she asked, noting the collection of black vehicles surrounding her modest living arrangement.

"Pretty much," he responded, pausing to take off his sunglasses. "Would you mind if I came inside? I think you might be interested to hear what I have to say."

Knowing she really didn't have much of a choice, Jane stepped to the side and sat down on the couch. "This better be good," she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"As you may already know, your colleague, Doctor Selvig, has been working on a S.H.I.E.L.D project for the past couple weeks."

She nodded. "He was pretty cagey on the details, but I figured it must've been a big deal if S.H.I.E.L.D was involved…"

Coulson pulled a folder out of his briefcase and handed it to Jane. "This will tell you everything you need to know about the project. Doctor Selvig and another astrophysicist are working with a potentially alien artifact known as the tesseract. Given your background, Director Fury has decided to include both yourself and your assistant, Darcy Lewis, in this project."

Jane felt a twinge of excitement creep up her spine as she eagerly opened the folder and scanned the data. Apparently S.H.I.E.L.D wanted to harness the immense energy given off by the tesseract to create a sustainable source of pure energy. Tony Stark had already been working on a protocol with fairly positive results thus far.

If the tesseract was a so-called 'alien' device, it might help her figure out a way to communicate with Thor. Hell, it might even be the missing link to creating her Einstein-Rosen bridge. But even so, something seemed suspicious.

"It says here that the project was initiated over a month ago," she said, glancing up at Coulson with wary eyes. "Why wait till now to include me? You knew that Erik and I worked together, so why didn't you bring me in with him from the beginning?"

Coulson briefly avoided her gaze, not wanting to have to get into the details right off the bat. "The other astrophysicist working with Doctor Selvig – something about him doesn't sit right with Fury. He passed clearance in S.H.I.E.L.D's database, doesn't have a criminal record or anything. Doctor Selvig doesn't have a single bad thing to say about the guy…"

Jane snorted. "Is it so bad to like the person you're working with?"

"It's too good to be true," Coulson said flatly. "Selvig is already too involved. We need someone else on the team, someone who can keep an unbiased eye on him."

Deep down, Jane knew she wasn't going to pass up this opportunity. Even so, she didn't like the fact that she was being called upon simply because some pompous spy organization felt paranoid. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, trying to grasp all of this.

"So you're telling me that my scientific knowledge alone wasn't enough to allow me to work on this before, but now that you _need_ someone to keep an eye on a person that _you_ hired, I'm magically qualified? Why don't you get one of your spies to do the job?"

"That wouldn't work. If this guy were up to something, he'd know that an average spy isn't a scientist. By including you, we're killing two birds with one stone – an additional intelligent mind working on the project, who wouldn't raise any suspicions."

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered, mostly to herself. She glanced back up at Coulson, who seemed to already know what her answer would be. "I'm in."

* * *

From what Jane could gather, the four of them – Erik, Darcy, the mysterious astrophysicist, and herself would be confined to their work space to study the tesseract. They'd have to stay in such conditions until they've finalized their research and know enough about the relic to allow for S.H.I.E.L.D to begin using it.

Of course Jane didn't mind that too much, seeing as it wouldn't really differ from her own lifestyle. Darcy, on the other hand, wasn't too thrilled.

"Can you believe we're going to be locked in some lab for _months_?" she gasped. "No cell phone reception…no cable TV…it's practically the apocalypse!"

"Oh, relax, Darcy. You'll be fine," Jane laughed.

After passing through various security checkpoints, Coulson led Jane and Darcy to the lab. She couldn't help but smile once she saw Erik. It'd only been a month since she saw him, but it felt so much longer.

As much as she wanted to run over and hug him or ask him to share his thoughts on the tesseract, she found herself stationary once she saw the man S.H.I.E.L.D was so suspicious of.

Darcy noticed him just as quickly. "I can see why they'd be so worried about him. He's _way_ too hot to be a scientist," she whispered to Jane.

She had a valid point. Aside from Thor, Jane hadn't found a single other man to rival his attractiveness. But this man – with his perfectly slicked raven hair, structured cheekbones, and slender frame – seemed almost as otherworldly as Thor, despite having qualities so opposite of Thor's brawn.

This project just became much more interesting.

* * *

Everything was going according to plan. The seeds of his vengeance had been planted almost directly after he fell from Asgard. He spent a brief amount of time spiraling through crevices between the Nine Realms, interacting with all sorts of strange, repulsive creatures. During his journey, he gained unthinkable knowledge and learned entirely different means of sorcery.

He learned of the tesseract, an Asgardian relic that had somehow fallen to Midgard. He found his way to Earth, hiding in the shadows and manipulating humans to do his bidding – introducing the tesseract to S.H.I.E.L.D, involving one of Thor's dear friends, Erik Selvig.

Loki waited until the timing was right to take a human form and infiltrate his own lab experiment, posing as astrophysicist Luka Lawson, a moderately amusing modification of his regrettably truthful name – Loki Laufeyson.

He could sense Jane's presence before she entered the room. When they made initial eye contact, he was surprised and somewhat pleased to find her looking upon him with admiration and interest. He nearly laughed aloud, knowing that once she learned the truth, that'd hardly be how she would look at him. When the time was right, she would see nothing but fear when she gazed upon him.

As he made a move to greet her and introduce himself, he froze, feeling overwhelmed with emotion. This was the woman who ruined everything – _Thor's whore_, as he'd taken a liking to calling her. She, in a matter of days, transformed his brutish, arrogant, selfish brother into a respectable man, worthy of the crown of Asgard. Loki was meant to rule. He'd done everything to prove it, going to great lengths to justify himself.

Then Jane Foster had to ruin everything, forever driving a wedge between Loki and Thor, once loving brothers, now hateful adversaries.

Violent images flashed before his eyes as his mind wandered, picturing how he'd make her pay for her interference. A quick death would be out of the question. He'd drag it out nice and slow, forcing her to cling to that last breath of life until Thor arrived, just in time to see her die.

Her voice ripped him from his own thoughts. "I'm Jane Foster," she said with a smile, somehow standing much closer to him than he recalled her being.

He blinked a few times, forcing himself back into character. "Luka Lawson," he said. "It is _such_ an honor to finally meet you."

* * *

**A/N: **After months of reading Lokane fics, I finally gave in and decided to start one of my own. There just aren't enough of them out there! And with all the other stories I have going on right now, I know the last thing I need is a new story, but I couldn't help myself. I'm officially obsessed ;)

I already started writing the next chapter, and hope that I'll have updates either once a week or every other week.

Reviews would mean the world to me :)


	2. Observations

**The Devil Within**

By: Darkest Ember

Chapter 2: Observations

* * *

Once the S.H.I.E.L.D agents and their prying eyes left the facility, Jane could hardly contain herself. With all the craziness that surrounded the situation with Thor, Jane felt as if she hadn't seen Erik in years, though it had only been a couple months.

Her eyes glanced around the lab, taking in the sight of computer monitors and keyboards lining the walls…tables covered with test tubes, flasks, and microscopes. She already felt right at home.

"So what's the deal with this tesseract thing?" Darcy asked, adjusting her glasses to get a better look at some of the images pinned to a bulletin board.

Erik laughed softly, relieved, yet surprised that S.H.I.E.L.D included Darcy on this project. "That's what we're here for – to study it and learn how its energy can be harnessed."

Loki, or Luka as they knew him, had put a noticeable distance between himself and the others since the S.H.I.E.L.D agents left. It was a sharp contrast to the amiable façade he showed when first meeting Jane.

"_So_," she whispered, eyes darting over in Loki's direction. "What's the deal with him?"

Both Erik and Jane glanced over at the man in question. "Well, you already know his name is Luka. From what I understand, he's a brilliant astrophysicist, graduated at top of his class at Stanford."

Darcy snorted. "Wouldn't someone from California be a little less pale?"

"On to more _important _matters," Jane shot a stern look at Darcy, who simply shrugged. "Is he always this…antisocial?"

"He gets lost in his research sometimes. There've been nights when he would just stare at that computer screen, analyzing the same set of data over and over, hoping for just the right breakthrough."

"He sounds like a guy version of you," Darcy laughed, watching a subtle rosy blush creep across Jane's cheeks.

Desperate to change the subject, Jane asked, "Just how much does he know about all this? About Thor?"

The sounds of a chair scooting backwards and approaching footsteps interrupted Erik's answer. "Forgive me, but did you just say something about Thor? Thor, the Nordic god of thunder?"

Darcy, biting on her lower lip, leaned toward Jane. "I'd say not much."

If he didn't know about Thor, Jane was willing to bet that there was a reason S.H.I.E.L.D didn't debrief him on the matter. "Uh…a couple sources in different scientific communities speculated that energy radiation similar to what's coming off the tesseract could have something to do with otherworldly beings…like Thor."

"Smooth," Darcy muttered under her breath.

Although Jane was proud of her answer, despite the obvious struggle it took to come up with it, her half-formed smile fell once she noticed the look of complete disbelief on his face. "That's rather unusual, Doctor Foster. Perhaps if we have any intention of completing this project, we should leave mythology out of it."

Jane knew that it wouldn't be fair to get angry with him, considering he was completely unaware of the truth. But even so, she couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable under his intense stare, those judgmental crystalline eyes searing her flesh. A part of her wanted to tell him the entire story, just to wipe that look off his face, but she decided against it.

After receiving a curt nod from her, he turned around and returned to his desk. Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D was right. Maybe there was something off about him.

* * *

Loki was usually introverted whenever he spent time with Thor, Lady Sif, and the Warriors Three. Thor would be the center of the attention, always issuing commands, always the greatest warrior in battle, always the funniest jester.

Although known for having a silver tongue, Loki used his gift for word manipulation sparingly. More often than not, he would stay toward the back of whatever room they would be in, silently watching their interactions. He liked to observe people. Once you became good enough, you could see things you never noticed before – from the excessive amount of crumbs gathering in Volstagg's massive beard to Sif's loving, sidelong glances in Thor's direction.

Be it by choice or nature, Loki was different from the rest of them, especially Thor. It was a sort of taboo or unspoken truth that he kept to himself, only able to acknowledge it upon finding out his true parentage. Then it all made sense.

Try as he may to ignore their idle chatter, Loki knew that the humans were talking about him. He had every intention of keeping to himself, silently studying Jane Foster and learning all he could about her, while also mastering his knowledge of their at times overly complicated technology.

All bets were off once he heard Thor mentioned. A devious smirk crawled across his lips as he stood up and toyed with Jane on the subject matter. It was clear that she hadn't expected that, but still put considerable effort into supplying an explanation – one that was so very far from the truth.

Getting his share of amusement out of the situation, he left it at that and returned to his work. However, that only lasted for so long before he picked up on something unpleasant.

Due to his innate abilities as a patient, silent observer, he instantly recognized the feeling of being watched.

Like an unreachable itch that continues to pester and burn, Jane Foster's eyes bore into his back. He wondered how she could be so uncouth; gawking at him as if he were a specimen she was studying with curiosity and scrutiny.

Perhaps his simple moment of mischief drew too much attention to himself.

How could he focus on analyzing the tesseract with such intrusion, even if from a distance? An annoyed sigh blew out of his mouth and his fingers stilled on the keyboard as he considered turning around and catching her in the act. Despite repeatedly reminding himself that her thoughts and actions meant nothing to him, Loki couldn't fight the inquisitivity forming in his brain, beseeching attention.

"Luka…" Erik called, sounding almost hesitant after the earlier awkward conversation. Loki repaired his mask, turning to face the mortal with a polite smile.

"Yes, Doctor Selvig?"

"Would you mind watching the tesseract while I run a couple quick tests. I know it's getting late, but I just want to try this one thing."

"Not a problem." Loki exited out of the program he was using and stepped over to the tesseract. Being this close to it, hearing it screeching and calling to him was overwhelming. However, he had thousands of years of practiced restraint keeping him from simply taking the artifact.

Contrary to his mortal counterparts, Loki knew quite a bit about the properties and abilities of the tesseract, which was of Asgardian origin. With proper guidance, the tesseract could act as a portal. But it was so much more than that! It could be a power source – a weapon. And that was why Odin kept it locked in his vault.

He scoffed, wondering how such a powerful object slipped out of the All Father's grasp in the first place. It could've at least landed in a more bearable realm.

The more he thought of Asgard, the more he felt an angered heat crawl across his skin. Lashing out at these most valuable humans would do him little good in the long run. He closed his eyes and exhaled. He needed a release.

First, to avoid suspicion, he finished his task with Erik and then refocused his attention on Jane. If she planned on spending her evening observing him, then he'd do the same to her.

* * *

Although Jane felt an overwhelming desire to dig in and start learning all she could about the tesseract, she found herself unable to shake the discomfort she felt after that strange encounter with Luka. Abandoning the folder with some of Erik's notes in favor of a small notebook, she situated herself on a leather couch across the room.

Ever so thorough in her observation, regardless of the subject matter, Jane started jotting down any and all thoughts that came to mind whilst staring in his general direction.

_He's tall, nearly a whole foot taller than me. Despite my initial impression of him, his movements seem so rigid, his smiles so forced. His hair is jet black and semi-long, the curved-out tips brushing past his shoulders. He's skinny, but not in a wimpy sense – there is some definite developed muscle in his arms, though not nearly as bulging and noticeable as Thor's. _

She stopped herself there, ripping the page out and fighting the temptation to tear it to shreds. S.H.I.E.L.D wouldn't care that this human didn't quite stack up to the god of thunder in a weight-lifting competition. What good were physical attributes? They can already _see_ all of that. Jane knew that if she were ever going to gain any meaningful insight, she'd have to weasel her way into his life and learn more personal details about him.

Thankfully, Erik called her over to his desk, providing a much needed distraction from that frustrating observation. While S.H.I.E.L.D wanted her to spy on Luka, Jane's priorities were – or should be – putting the tesseract first.

"It's too late to do any heavy reading. Think you could fill me in?"

Erik laughed. "I don't think there's anything too complicated in the reading, but I suppose I could give you some basic details." He turned the screen so that she could get a better look. "The cube – it's essentially a source of self-sustaining energy. It never turns off, never grows brighter or dimmer…"

Jane was intrigued, her eyes absently scanning over the images and numbers on the screen. A part of her, however, felt crestfallen. For some reason, she'd hoped that this object could've been used to assist her in the quest to connect to other worlds. Of course _this_ world undoubtedly needs the kind of energy the tesseract could provide; yet, she still couldn't help her own selfish desires from manifesting in the back of her mind.

"Erik, this is amazing," she said, her voice displaying her lessened enthusiasm.

"There's one more thing," he said quietly, glancing over his shoulder, noting that Luka was still occupied with his task. "Take a look at this."

He handed her a large book, already opened to a particular page. There wasn't much text, save for a caption underneath a large illustration of a man holding a glowing blue object. Confused, she read the caption and nearly dropped the book. "No way," she breathed.

A grin crept across Erik's face as he watched Jane's eyes become alit with excitement. "After everything that's happened in the past couple months, I've found myself consulting that silly book more and more. Shortly after S.H.I.E.L.D called me to work on this project, I remembered seeing that picture, seeing Odin holding the tesseract. This is an Asgardian artifact."

"D-do you think there's any way we could use it to…communicate?" she asked, internally boiling over with hope and excitement.

"That's what we're here for, Jane. To learn what exactly the cube is capable of."

Thrilled with the possibility that she would soon be reunited with Thor, Jane asked if she could borrow Erik's book to see if there were any other clues on the colorful pages. "Just for tonight. We start working early in the morning," he said teasingly.

"Can't wait!" Jane declared. After subtly ripping up the page of her useless observations, she all but skipped to her bedroom with the book in hand.

* * *

He waited, distantly listening to her conversation with Selvig.

_Asgard_. At least they were smart enough to figure out that much. Just when he thought their incessant chattering would yield no end, she walked away, heading toward the sleeping quarters.

Just after she left and he was assured that the other two mortals were unaware, he created a flawless illusion of himself, still seated diligently at the desk, while his true form blended into the shadows.

Now one with the darkness, he stood completely still, eyes locked on his target. He didn't turn away, not even when she started to undress, changing out of her flannel shirt and blue jeans and into a plain t-shirt and sweatpants.

Loki wanted to memorize everything about her – from her smooth chestnut colored hair to the way she bit her lower lip while in deep-thought. Of course he'd caught glimpses of her through the eyes of the Destroyer, but this, this was something entirely new, it seemed. He wondered if Thor received the privilege of seeing this much of her.

His interest shifted to the book she was reading – some sort of childish edition of Norse mythology. He rolled his eyes. The least she could do was read the _Prose Edda _or something with more substance.

She flipped through the pages with unmistakable fascination, thoroughly reading each caption and examining each picture. If she wanted to learn anything meaningful about Asgardian history, it wouldn't be from that book. _Perhaps now would be a good time to intrude_, he thought. Grinning, he returned to his illusion's prior positioning and retraced his steps back to her.

* * *

Jane was getting lost in the book, not because it was particularly interesting, but because it correlated with her mission to see Thor once more. The more she knew about his world, even if it was through a child's storybook, the easier it would be to reconnect their two worlds. Or at least, she hoped.

After reading about the Bifrost and Thor, Jane turned the page and found herself staring at the illustrated version of Loki, Thor's brother. Of course she knew that Thor had to return to Asgard to fight Loki. She wanted to believe that Thor won, but what if he didn't? What possible reason could he have for not returning as he swore he would?

The thought lingered in the back of her mind like an endless taunt - _What if he's _dead_? _

Just before the thought could continue to manifest, a voice broke through the silence and distracted her dreadful concentration.

"Shouldn't someone of your esteemed intelligence be reading something a little more mature?"

She nearly leaped out of the bed, so startled by Luka's sudden appearance. The book fell from her lap, still opened to the page regarding Loki. Jane, now practically hyper-aware of her settings, didn't miss a beat. He gazed at the page with misplaced amusement and intrigue.

"Shouldn't someone of _your_ esteemed intelligence learn to knock before entering a person's room?" she mocked, scooping up the book.

"Be that as it may, I still don't understand your interest in mythology. If this is how you approach your work, it's no wonder you don't have many papers published."

Jane was usually a calm person, but when someone dared insult her intelligence or her work – the gloves were off. "If I were you," she said lowly, walking toward him. "I would worry about your own situation. There are some details relevant to this project that S.H.I.E.L.D clearly didn't trust you with. I'm beginning to see why."

She walked past him, purposely ramming her shoulder into his as she passed. Walking out into the lab, Jane discovered with great distress that Erik and Darcy had already gone to bed. Mere seconds after standing in the dark abandoned room, Jane remembered Coulson saying something about an observatory on the top floor of the building.

Grinning with relief, she climbed the stairs and found the room in question, already feeling her anger and anxiety fading at the sight. After all, Thor was somewhere out there, in that collection of time and matter, stars and planets. She hoped.

* * *

Loki's fingers curled into tight fists at his side as he stood planted in place in her room. Harboring so much hatred toward her, he couldn't resist being so harsh. He almost laughed to himself, knowing he could've been _much_ crueler.

Her escalating footsteps led him to believe that she had discovered the observatory. His angered expression melted away almost instantly. This would work out just fine. She placed herself in an isolated location away from the other two mortals. He could say or do whatever he wanted to her.

Closing his eyes and sighing, he calmed himself down, knowing that it was still too soon to do anything drastic. For now, boring as it may be, Loki needed to settle for repairing Jane's opinion of him, and then he could manipulate her into complying with his plans.

When he found her, she was sitting on a blanket, staring into a telescope, while simultaneously taking notes in a small notebook, which he noticed never left her side.

He cleared his throat, biting back laughter as she bumped her forehead on the eyepiece. Groaning softly, Jane turned around and gave him an incredulous look. "What are you doing up here?"

Despite his best effort, Loki couldn't quite hide the confliction that was still playing out in his mind. A whole minute passed before he was able to gain control of his own motives. "Forgive me, Doctor Foster, it's been an exhausting day," he said, his voice shifting from its previous spitefulness to meekness. "May I join you?"

Jane looked hesitant to encourage his company, but ended up nodding, scooting over so that there would be room for him to join her on the blanket. They sat in silence for a few minutes, simply gazing out at the starry sky. Suddenly, Jane snorted and shook her head. Upon seeing the questioning look he was giving her, she contained herself and said, "Either I'm too captivated by this beautiful sight or I'm way too forgiving. When I first came up here, I could've cared less if I ever saw you again. Yet here you are…"

"For what it's worth, I appreciate your compassion. Regrettably, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Care to start over?" He extended his hand intending for her to shake it.

"Fine, but if that's the case then you better start telling me a little more about yourself. All I know is your name."

During the past couple months working with Selvig, Loki had plenty of time to craft an impressive, yet believable back-story. Now he'd get to put it all to good use. "Well, I've been an astrophysicist for nearly four years now. I've spent quite a bit of time studying cosmic microwave background radiation. I never would've imagined I'd get the opportunity to work with an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D."

Jane was undoubtedly impressed, and there was no reason for her not to be. Loki specifically considered her own background when creating his.

"Wow, we really do have a lot in common," she said quietly, with the slightest implication of regret.

Loki heard what she said, but noted that she might not have wanted him to hear it. "I'm sorry?" he asked.

Her eyes widened and she stumbled into a new question, completely discarding her previous statement. "So, how did S.H.I.E.L.D approach you?"

In truth, he slipped past their security, introduced the tesseract to Fury himself, and brought Selvig in on the project. But she couldn't know that – not just yet.

"They didn't give too many details at first, but they said that there was a project that required an assistant astrophysicist. Not really getting anywhere with my previous experimentation, I immediately accepted the offer."

Jane laughed. "I wish my introduction to S.H.I.E.L.D could've been that pleasant."

Loki shared in her laughter, trying to make her feel more comfortable around him. "Why? What happened? Surely, it couldn't have been that bad."

"I won't bore you with the details, but basically they showed up at the place where Erik, Darcy, and I were working and literally took everything – our notes, devices, even Darcy's iPod! They just took it without any explanation."

"Obviously you got it all back if you're working for them now."

Jane bit her lower lip and kept her eyes focused on the stars instead of him. He could tell that she so desperately wanted to tell him something, but was restraining herself from doing so.

"Don't tell them I told you," she sighed, "but I'm not working for them out of desire. I'm just using this opportunity to see Erik and maybe…no, forget it."

"No," he said, almost urgently, "tell me. What did you come here for, Jane?" He could feel her skin burn under his touch, watching as the blush crept across her face as she started laughing nervously.

Once she calmed herself, she looked at him rather intensely, gauging whether or not she should trust him. Loki was well aware of her internal debate and tried his best to abandon any signs of contempt and instead show nothing but kindness and genuine interest.

"I…I lied to you earlier, about the reason I brought up Thor." _Success._

"What do you mean?"

"About six months ago, Erik, Darcy, and I were looking into some abnormal patterns in the sky. I know this is going to sound crazy, but…a man fell from the sky, claiming to be Thor. We didn't believe him at first because he'd lost his powers and had been cast out. Long story short, his brother, Loki, sent this monstrous metal monster to my town and tried to kill us all. Suddenly, Thor's powers were restored and he was able to save us."

It took every fiber of his being to resist responding to the various aspects of her story. The way she said his name with such hatred made him want to reach out strangle the life right out of her. But he couldn't. Instead, he looked confused for the sake of suspense and then turned serious.

"You mean to say that Thor…all of those stories…are _real_?" he gasped.

She nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "So you don't think I'm crazy?"

"No, of course not. I just wish you could've somehow told me this sooner so we could've avoided that mess."

"I don't get why S.H.I.E.L.D didn't tell you about it."

He shrugged. "It doesn't really have any relevance to the project, right?"

"Actually…" she smiled. "You know that 'childish' book I was reading? It had an illustration of Odin holding the tesseract. This item could be a link to Thor…to his world!"

Loki settled on stunned silence for his response. It seemed acceptable enough, as she turned her attention back to the sky. He pretended to do the same, though his attention was quite evidently on her.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she murmured.

He felt the urge to scoff. How could she think that these tiny orbs of light could even compare to the view of Asgard from the palace balconies? If she truly believed this to be beautiful, she would probably drop dead from shock upon seeing Asgard.

No, it wasn't the Midgardian evening sky that was beautiful. The truest form of beauty was her innocence…her pure fascination with worlds and concepts she couldn't hope to comprehend. Despite what was sure to be a bleak outcome for her world, should Loki succeed, there was nothing but hope and a desire to learn etched across her face.

Loki could still remember when he had been so innocent, so intrigued by the world around him. Bitter reality and truth stole all of that from him. And he would do the same to her.

"I think it would be best if I headed to bed now," he said, feigning a yawn. "We'll surely have a busy day tomorrow."

Jane nodded, not giving any indication that she would be leaving. "That's probably a good idea, but I'm going to stay up here just a little while longer. Sleep is something I've unfortunately learned to live without."

"As you wish." He was about to get up, but stopped himself once a wonderfully malicious idea came to mind. "Thank you once again for your forgiveness."

Then, he reached out and grabbed her hand. She began trembling as he pressed his lips to her knuckles.

Just like Thor.

* * *

A/N: So sorry for the ridiculous wait for this chapter! I must've rewritten it at least three times before I was even satisfied, yet it still feels like a filler chapter :/ Hopefully, you still enjoy reading it! The next chapter will be much more interesting as Loki convinces Jane to turn her back on S.H.I.E.L.D, which will surely have some bad consequences...

Thanks to everyone who commented, followed, or added this to their favorites. Hope to see a continued increase in those numbers ;)


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